Three Weeks Later
by 8bitstrawberrie
Summary: Conclusion chapter is up! After the defeat of Don Armage, Balance and Naga find themselves nearly trapped after a failed treasure hunt. The treasure box is empty, but Balance is experiencing issues with time, and Naga's an emotional wreck.
1. Chapter 1

Balance was way more excited than he should have been. He's explored and searched so many places, but for some reason, finding a cave... was way more exciting that any other place. He's been to mansions, haunted houses, deserted ships... but there was just something about a natural place, not made by a person, that made him feel alive. And at that moment, with Naga, he was feeling complete bliss.

When Balance and Naga walked in, they realized they had no light, but they didn't even care. A kyutama would have come in handy then, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't always have one, anyway. Balance brightened up his eyes, and the two walked as close as possible.

The cave itself was dusty, and _crawling_ with bugs. Balance had told Naga he could back out, but if Balance was going, so was Naga. No question.

For awhile, there was nothing really to see in the cave. Balance figured this had been a good idea, but felt they'd probably be let down.

Finally, Naga spotted a doorway. It was covered in stones, but it wasn't something that either one of them could pull out of the way. Naga began uncovering it.

"Oh, I wonder what's back there?" Balance said. He was so excited. "Hurry, Naga, let's see, let's see!"

Naga laughed. "Be patient, Balance." Despite saying that, Naga had the door open in a flash. He hurried right in.

Balance laughed. "Wait for me, Naga! How can you even see?"

"Balance!" Naga cried out. "There's a trea-"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. It made the absolute worst noise. It was partially a slam, but part of it sounded like a female screaming. Balance knew it wasn't Naga.

"Naga?" Balance yelled out. "Hey, Naga, you ok in there? The door's stuck. I'll have it open again!" Balance couldn't hear Naga, but figured he was probably just on the other side of the door. "Naga? If you can hear me, I'm almost there!"

Balance managed to open the door, but it was a terrible process, as that door had been shut air tight. Balance freaked out at the thought of Naga not having any air.

"Naga?" Balance figured that with the door partially open, that Naga should have been able to hear him by now.

Still no answer.

"Naga? _Naga_! Answer me!" Balance called out, finally opening the door wide enough to get in, and he hurried through it. "Naga, say something, you're _scaring me_!"

No answer.

"_Naga_!"

Balance heard a small groaning noise. He wasn't entirely sure if it was Naga or not, but he wasn't taking any chances, and he made a direct beeline for the noise.

Sure enough, Naga was there, clutching onto a small, but almost seemingly lit up, tiny treasure chest. Naga had somehow managed to find a _treasure chest_? In this _cave_?

Balance could almost feel the chest pulsating, but wasn't sure if that was the chest itself, or if there was something else in the room that could be causing it. Balance also noticed that his chest was feeling kind of weird. It wasn't painful, but it was kind of numb, maybe, with a hint of soreness, and something else, that he couldn't really put a name on.

But _way_ more importantly than that...

Naga was _unconscious_.

Balance knew for a fact then that the pulsating was real at this point, because he was now able to hear it. The tone was completely low and soft, but he was able to pick up on it.

_What was going on in here?!_

Whatever it was, was managing to completely freak Balance out. He knew he needed to get Naga out of here and _fast_.

"Naga, come on, wake up." Balance put his hands on Naga's shoulders and tried shaking him. "Naga... _Naga_, please, baby, _wake up_!"

Naga barely stirred, but did it enough that Balance knew that Naga was still alive and breathing. Balance needed to get that treasure box and whatever was in it, _away_ from Naga.

"Naga, baby, if you can hear me, we're not taking this home, ok?" Balance whispered gently to Naga. "Ok, Naga? Whatever it's doing to you, I can't handle it. Please... wake up. _Please_, baby. I _need_ you!"

Naga stirred again, this time more than he did earlier. Balance grabbed the chest from him. Before he could put it aside though, he stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel the chest pulsating. Out of pure curiosity and definitely not thinking it through, Balance opened the chest.

It was empty.

Did Naga have the actual treasure on him? Balance threw the chest on the ground. He turned back over to Naga.

"Naga, please wake up. I can't... I can't even imagine living without you. Please _don't do this to me_!"

While shaking Naga again, Balance felt around to see if Naga had the treasure on him. He didn't seem too, but then again, Balance didn't want to touch _every_ part of him.

"_Naga_! _Please_! I _love_ you, baby!"

Well, that seemed to do it. Naga stirred again and finally opened his eyes.

"Naga?" Balance asked.

"Balance?" Naga quietly replied back.

"Naga!" Balance gave him a giant hug. "Naga, you scared me, baby! I thought I had _lost you_!"

"Baby...?" Naga trailed off, still not fully conscious.

"We need to get out of here," Balance said. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I'll try," Naga said. Balance helped him stand up, but Naga immediately fell to the floor again.

"Naga, we need to go," Balance said, as he helped Naga climb onto his back. "Drop the treasure you're holding. We are _not_ taking _this_ home."

"I don't... I don't have anything," Naga managed to say. "There was no treasure in the chest."

Ok, that was weird. What the hell was causing this? Whatever it was, it was time to get the hell out of there. It took awhile, but Balance managed to find the exit to the cave.

Ah, there is was. The beach, the winds, the waves, the sound of seagulls. Balance wasn't sure how long they had been in there, but the sun was already beginning to set, so it must have been awhile.

Balance carefully put Naga down on the spot they had earlier, where their seiza blasters were still laying. He got down on the ground and sat next to him.

"Baby, are you ok?" Balance asked. "You scared the _hell_ out of me."

"I... I think so," Naga said, breathlessly. "But... why do you keep calling me baby?"

Balance paused. He had barely realized he had been doing it. "Oh, you know," Balance said. "I was scared, I wasn't thinking straight, I guess? I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Naga said. "I'm freezing."

Ah, there was Balance's _chance_! Balance scooted over to Naga, and took him in an embrace.

"If I had a jacket, I'd give it you, baby," Balance said. Then he realized what he had just said. "I mean, I'm not cold at all. Let me help you warm up."

Balance brought Naga in and snuggled. Naga, feeling a little weird at first, hesitantly obeyed, but after a minute or so, he managed to relax.

Even though Balance knew they had to find their way back to the ship, he didn't move right away. He could have sat there holding onto Naga _forever_. In fact, this was the longest time they had ever been that close, and Balance... well, he was _loving_ it.

"Balance?" Naga finally whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not comfortable anymore."

"Oh!" Balance said. Guess he should have thought about Naga's comfort before his own. "Sorry, baby." Balance released his grip on Naga.

Naga sighed, then laid himself back into the sand, making sure to have a good view of the sunset.

Balance tried to watch the sunset, but his focused remained solely on Naga. He positioned himself right next to Naga, barely leaving any room between them.

For a few minutes, Balance sat there and watched Naga breathe. There was a slight breeze blowing Naga's hair into his eyes. Balance never realized how... _beautiful_... Naga actually was. Balance secretly wished he had a camera so he would never have to lose this moment.

Naga had his eyes closed, and Balance wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep, or to relax. He still didn't know what had caused the pulsations, or the explosion, or even what had specifically knocked Naga unconscious. Naga's breathing had been really light since then, and with him laying there with his eyes closed, Balance thought that... _maybe_... he should check to see if he was breathing. Just as a precaution, maybe?

As carefully and as gentle as possible, Balance rolled over onto his stomach, and moved his hand and placed it directly on Naga's chest, which Balance now knew was actually rising up and down. Balance knew he should have lifted his hand up, but... he didn't. This was too good of a feeling. Naga must have been asleep, because he didn't react to it at all.

Balance took his other hand and placed it on Naga's hand.

"I'm going to keep you safe, baby," Balance whispered. "I _promise_ you that."

Balance closed his eyes for a moment, taking in only the smell of the beach. When he opened them up, he turned his focus back to Naga... and... without thinking it through...

...leaned over...

... and gave him a kiss. Well, as much of a kiss as he could without lips.

Still didn't respond.

Balance did what any other curious being would have done. He did it again.

A bit longer this time.

Still no response.

So, one more time, and then he'd-

"Hey, lovebirds!"

Balance jumped at the sudden voice. At least Balance knew now that Naga was only sleeping, because he was just as startled, and sat up straight. Ah, it was _Hammie_, followed by the Commander, Spada, and Raptor.

Oh, _fuck_. _Hammie_.

"Oh, no, please," Hammie said, "don't get up. Don't want to disturb your _honeymoon_."

"What's a honeymoon?" Naga asked.

"What are you _talking_ about, Hammie?" Balance blurted out.

"Oh, please, _Balance_, you were k-"

"I didn't do anything!" Balance shouted, scrambling up. "So zip it!"

"That's enough," the Commander said. "Listen, we lost contact with you seven hours ago. There was no communication with your seiza blasters at all... not even to scan for your whereabouts. We haven't been able to track you down until about fifteen minutes ago, and we got here as soon as we could."

_Seven hours _ago? They had to have only been in that cave for, what, twenty minutes, tops? And not long on the beach, either. Balance looked down at his seiza blaster. For some reason that Balance couldn't remember, both he and Naga had removed them before going into the cave. But, what was even weirder... fifteen minutes ago would have been around the time they had finally gotten _out_ of the cave. Not that time made _any_ sense at that moment.

"What _happened_ to you guys?" Spada asked.

"Nothing," Balance said, as he helped Naga up, and Naga was able to stand on his own this time. At the same time Naga said, "We were exploring a cave."

Balance quickly added, "Just must have lost track of time. No big deal. We're sorry."

"Lost track of time doing _what_?" Hammie asked. "We _interrupted_ you, didn't we? Should we get you a room somewhere?" Hammie looked around. "Don't see any hotels, sorry!"

"Shut _up_!" Balance shouted out.

"Oh, it'll be a beautiful wedding!" Hammie exclaimed.

"A wedding?" Naga asked, more confused than ever.

"We'll decorate, and buy Naga a dress, and-"

"I'll bake the cake!" Spada said, surprisingly playing along.

"You're going to buy me a dress?" Naga asked.

"I could go for a cake, actually," Balance said, half trying to calm Hammie down, and half trying to be a smart ass.

"Consider it made!" Spada said. "Should I make you a bachelor party cake, too?"

"Not unless Hammie jumps out of the cake," Balance replied, wondering if anger would quiet her down. "All bachelor parties have a stri-"

"_Balance_!" Hammie was at full capacity with her anger now. Balance had no idea why he thought _that_ was a good idea. "You'd better watch yourself tonight, or I'll-"

"Ok, ok!" the Commander said. "I've heard enough. I see you guys are fine, right? Head back to the ship. _Now_."

"Okyuu!" the team responded.

Balance quietly took Naga back to his voyager.

The ride home wasn't awkward at all, or at least, not to Balance. Naga just sat there, looking out of the window, with kind of a ... wistful, maybe... look on his face. Balance didn't want to ask him about it. So he just kept quiet until they got home.

Balance and Naga had missed dinner with the team, and by the time they had finished eating dinner, it was nearly time for lights out. Naga didn't seem upset by that at all, but Balance... well, he felt like he was on some kind of high. He felt... happy, to say the least, but there was more to it. He felt... fulfilled? Satisfied? He didn't know. He didn't quite understand it.

Balance did know one thing. When Naga went to his own room and shut the door, Balance was disappointed. He disappeared into his own room, locking the deadbolt, just in case Hammie went crazy and tried to wake him up.

Balance just laid on the bed, staring up into the ceiling. He wished Naga was in the bed with him. He sighed, as he rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

When Balance woke up the next morning, his head was _killing_ him, and he was incredibly thirsty. He sat up, and it must have been too quickly, because he was lightheaded as well.

What the _hell_ had happened yesterday?

Balance painstakingly got himself out of the bed, and somehow, got himself stood up. He walked over to the mirror, and boy, he was a sight to see. He looked like he hadn't be polished in days. Normally, this was something Balance did every morning, and he remembered doing that the day before, but... this was freaking him out.

As quickly as he could, he got himself polished and looking like an actual, mechanical being again. He was a bit groggy, but he tried not to think about it. He headed down the corridor down to the bridge.

As soon as he walked in, seeing everybody but Naga, everyone turned to him.

"Balance!" Lucky cried out.

"What _happened_ to you?" Garu asked.

"What's going on?" Stinger asked.

"What do you mean?" Balance asked. "I'm not late for breakfast, am I?"

Hammie ran over to him and gave him a tight hug. "Balance, I was _so worried_!"

"Worried about what? I thought _you_ were mad at me." Balance loosed her grip, but didn't push her away. "Sorry I'm late. I needed some extra polishing this morning."

"Balance..." Tsurugi said.

Balance looked over at him, still fighting the hug from Hammie.

"It's been three weeks since we've seen you," Tsurugi said, with a very, very straight face.

"Hey, where's Naga? Still sleeping?" Balance asked.

Everybody in the room exchanged confused, concerned looks.

"What _is it_?" Balance asked. His head was still pounding, and he was getting irritated.

"Balance," the Commander said. "Did you not hear what Tsurugi just said?"

"Huh?" Balance replied.

"It's been... _three_... _weeks_... since we've seen you," Tsurugi said.

"And we just had dinner," Kotaro said.

Balance looked at the kid. The kid was young, but he knew how to tell time, right?

"Balance, you've been in your room the entire time," Raptor said. "But you locked it from the inside. We couldn't get in. When the deadbolt was locked, not even Champ could pry it open." She glanced at the Commander. "_Maybe _something that needs to be, oh, _fixed_?"

"Oh, yeah," Balance paused. "I locked it before I went to bed last night. Why didn't ya ask Naga for it, he has the deadbolt key."

Hammie finally dropped the hug... and began staring at the ground. Everybody went silent.

Balance, yeah, this was a good time to start freaking out. "Where's Naga? What happened?"

"Naga's ok, physically," Raptor said, "but... emotionally, he's very unstable."

"What do you mean, _emotionally unstable_?" Balance asked. Did Naga even know _how_ to be emotionally unstable without the help of Jark Matter's brainwashing?

"He was down here a little bit ago to eat, but he's in his room right now," the Commander said. "Maybe it'll help if he sees you."

Balance was still extremely confused, and now worried about Naga. He raced to Naga's room and let himself right in.

What he walked into, he was not prepared for what he saw.

Naga was curled up on the end of his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. The room was a mess, as if somebody had been in, ransacking it. There was a blanket taped over the window, blocking Naga's view of outside. It looked like the walls had been drawn all over, and punched in a few spots. There was trash and clothing everywhere.

"N-Naga?" Balance whispered.

Naga looked up and wiped a tear off of his face. "_Balance_! _You came back_!" he cried out, jumping up, tripping over some clothing on the floor, and going in for an ever bigger hug than Hammie had given him.

"Hey, hey!" Balance said. "I'm right here. What's wrong?"

Naga didn't answer. He continued sobbing and wouldn't let go of the hug.

Balance loved the hug, but why was Naga reacting the way he was? Why did the _team_ react the way they did?

"What's going on, buddy?" Balance said. "I'm right here. I never went anywhere."

"But you were gone for _three weeks_."

"Is this a practical joke or something?" Balance paused for a moment. "I haven't been gone. Is this why you're upset, because you think I was gone?"

"No..."

"Oh," Balance said, a little offended. "Then... why... are you crying?"

Naga squeezed Balance even harder. "Balance... you're the only one... who..."

"Who what?" Balance said. He didn't even try to release Naga's grip.

"... that... that I can..."

"That you can what?"

"Balance..."

"What? I'm right here, buddy. Can you breathe, though? Try that first."

Naga loosened his grip on Balance, and pulled away, still holding him, but right in front of Balance's face, trying to catch his breath.

"Right... breathe..." Balance told him. "I'd show ya how, but I can't. I have no lungs."

Even though there was a tear running down his cheek, Naga managed to calm down a little.

"That's better," Balance said, smiling. "Are you ok now? Do you need water? When was the last time you ate?"

Naga frowned. "Feels like days. I'm starving."

"Ok. Let's get you cleaned up and go get Spada to make ya something delicious, ok, buddy?"

Naga stood there, puzzled for a minute. "Buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"No, I mean," Naga paused. "The last time I saw you, you called me baby. But you're calling me buddy again?"

Balance stopped for a moment. It was true, Balance had spent most of "last night" calling him baby. Slowly, the memories of all of the events that took place, suddenly came back to him.

But... why...? Guess Naga asked a pretty good question.

"I... I don't know," Balance said. "Sorry about that. I guess I had just-"

"I don't like it," Naga said quickly.

"You... you don't?"

Naga shook his head.

"Well, ok then, _Naga_!" Balance said, forcing a laugh. "Whatever you want. But let's wash your face, ok? You can't go to the bridge like this."

Naga nodded, and headed off into the bathroom.

Balance awkwardly waited for him. A few minutes later, Naga came out, his face was red and puffy, but he sort of looked like himself.

"You ready?" Balance asked.

"Yeah," Naga said quietly.

Balance led the way back to the bridge. When he walked in, all eyes were now on Naga. Nobody said anything.

"Hey, Naga here says he hasn't eaten in a long time. Can we get something for him, Spada?"

"But... we just ate breakfast. You're hungry again, Naga?" Spada asked.

"I'm not hungry," Naga said. "I just ate an hour ago. Thanks anyway though."

Balance looked over at Naga. "But you just said-"

"I'm fine," Naga said, a bit too casually.

"Ok, buddy." Balance had never been more frustrated and confused in his life.

This was getting... way too weird. Balance was afraid to ask what the time and the date were. How could it have _possibly_ been three weeks later? What was wrong with Naga? And why wouldn't Naga just come right out and tell him?

Balance looked over at Naga, who was just standing there, with the same blank expression that Balance first saw him with. Balance could no longer stand not knowing, so he pulled Naga aside to ensure some privacy.

"Naga," Balance said. "Can we find some place to talk?"

Naga looked at Balance but said nothing.

"Come on, Naga," Balance asked. "Do you want to go outside? There's a nice little beach on the planet. And nobody will be around to hear us."

Naga looked at him. "You promise... no one will be able to hear?"

"Of course I do. Gotta protect ya, am I right?"

Naga nodded.

"So let's go," Balance said, taking Naga by the arm. Balance skipped down the corridor, and the two headed to the Tenbin voyager.

"Commander, we're taking off. We'll be back shortly," Balance said into his seiza blaster.

"All right, we'll see you soon," the Commander said.

"Yes, sir!" Balance said, looking at Naga. "Ya got my full attention now. After we land, we'll be good to go."

Naga nodded. Balance got them back to that beach as quick as possible. It was completely empty, like it had been the last time. Balance actually liked it, he could allow Naga to speak freely without anybody in the universe hearing him.

Balance took Naga a little down the beach, before deciding on a spot. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but it should work for a decent view.

Naga sat in the sand. Balance sat next to him. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Balance said. "I'm right here. We're the only ones here. Nobody can hear you, not even the crew. Please tell me what's wrong."

Naga hesitated. "Balance... please promise me something first."

"Of course, Naga. Anything you want."

"Please... don't laugh at me."

"Of course I won't, Naga!" Balance said. "We're best friends... you're my partner. I'm here for you! Go ahead. I'm listening."

Naga paused, and starting crying again.

"Naga," Balance said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "You can trust me completely. I won't repeat a word of this."

Naga paused, but this time nodded. He took a deep breath in.

"Balance... there's something I want," he finally said. "And I can't have it. But I _want it_."

"Hey, if there's something ya want, I'll do everything I can to-"

"_No_," Naga said. "I _can't_ have it. And it makes me feel... weird... physically... it's hard to explain. It's like... a craving... but it's a physical feeling... in my stomach... that I can't get rid of... it's eating at me, Balance... I'm so frustrated... and confused..."

All right, this was weird. What could Naga possibly want that he couldn't have? Balance wondered if there was a way, and Naga was just overreacting.

"Is that why you were crying and you destroyed your room?"

Naga nodded. "I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "I'm ... so frustrated... and humiliated that I even _feel_ this way. And you are the only one I feel like I could talk to about it. And you _weren't there_!" His tears started up again.

Balance started freaking out. "No, Naga! I'm sorry! I don't _know _what happened to me. I know I'm physically capable of sleeping for weeks at a time, but I haven't done it in _forever_, and _those_ times I did it on purpose. Really, I'm sorry. You've been going through this for _three weeks_? By _yourself_?" He pulled Naga in and gave him a hug, making sure not to let go until Naga did. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you! Are you sure I can't help you with this? I mean, sometimes I can be pretty helpful, ya know."

Naga shook his head. "There's no way."

Balance was frustrated now. It was a physical feeling that Naga was dealing with, and it was so overwhelming, and so strong, that he couldn't even function anymore.

"Naga, will you tell me what it is, please?"

Naga was silent.

"Naga, I know you said you were humiliated, but I can't help you until you tell me what it is. I can't fix the problem if I don't know what it is."

Naga hesitated again. Balance saw the tears in his eyes. There was a look on Naga's face that he never thought he'd ever see. It was a mixture of absolute fear, shock, and humiliation. Balance grabbed him again, giving him the biggest hug he ever had.

"Balance..." Naga said. "I want to have a baby."

"You... want a baby, Naga?" Balance backed off just a little bit. "You're pretty young, you have your whole life ahead of you... Are you sure about this? I mean, maybe we can find you a girlfriend or-"

"No!" Naga shouted, practically into Balance's ear. "You're not listening! I want ... to _have_... a _baby_!"

Balance stopped for a minute. Naga didn't mean what Balance thought he was meaning... did he? "You mean, you... you _want_ to be pregnant, Naga?"

"_Yes_!" Naga shouted, as frustrated as Balance has ever heard him.

"Ok, well," Balance started, "um... I mean... do you even... have the parts for that?" Balance figured, with all of the millions of species in the universe, that there must have been _some_ whose males could get pregnant, but he never figured that Naga could, but then again, he never asked. He had zero reasons to ask, up until now.

"_No_, and that's my problem!" Naga screamed. "I _can't_!"

"But, why? Why do you want to be _pregnant_, Naga? I don't understand."

"I don't, either!" Naga's volume wasn't going down at all, and Balance was secretly glad he had gotten him off of the ship to talk. "I don't _know what to do_! This feeling... it_ won't go away_!"

"But how did this even come about? If you know you can't, then why..."

Naga gulped and finally lowered his voice volume. "I don't know," he said, a lot more calm than he had been. "I remember once, when we were still living on Jigama, that I saw a pregnant lady walking around. You probably didn't even notice her, but I did. I remember wondering to myself what kind of emotions she'd be experiencing, and for a moment I wondered what kind of emotions I could learn if _I_ could get pregnant. But then you started talking about something else, and I let it go. I still think about it sometimes, and I've even daydreamed about it. But I never thought..." Naga trailed off as another tear slipped down his cheek. "I'm so sorry. You probably hate me now, right? You probably think I'm pretty stupid. Or weird. I'd understand if you just left me here-"

"I'm not going to do that!" Balance said, bringing his voice up to the shouting range. "You're my best friend. I'd _die_ for you. I do _not_ think you're stupid. I am _here_ for you. Got it?" Balance paused. "Wait, was this _my_ fault? I called you baby and it triggered you?"

Another tear slipped down Naga's cheek as he shrugged his shoulders.

Balance leaned back a bit, having no clue how to even solve this problem. If it was a physical issue, it couldn't be solved by talking it out. Or even trying to use logic.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until their seiza blasters started going off. Balance figured there was probably trouble somewhere, but he removed his blaster, set it down on the sand, and ignored it. Naga was more important, and there were ten other people who could handle trouble. He also grabbed Naga's arm and removed his, as well.

"Why'd you do that?" Naga asked.

"Because you're more important than them," Balance said, giving him a squeeze. "Besides, with Don Armage beat, between the ten of them, they can handle it. Give the Kyulette a breather."

Naga smiled for the first time that day. He allowed Balance to just hold onto him.

After a few more minutes of silence, Balance noticed something off in the distance.

"Naga, look, there's a cave over there," he said. "You want to explore it with me? Maybe there will be something good in there. Looks like nobody has even touched this place in a long time, so I doubt anyone will bother us. You up for it?"

Naga thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes," he said. "I'll go with you."

"Let's go, then!" Balance said, standing up rather quickly. He gave a hand to Naga, and pulled him up, and the two ran to the cave.

Balance was way more excited than he should have been. He's explored and searched so many places, but for some reason, finding a cave... was way more exciting that any other place. He's been to mansions, haunted houses, deserted ships... but there was just something about a natural place, not made by a person, that made him feel alive. And at that moment, with Naga, he was feeling complete bliss.

When Balance and Naga walked in, they realized they had no light, but they didn't even care. A kyutama would have come in handy then, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't always have one, anyway. Balance brightened up his eyes, and the two walked as close as possible.

The cave itself was dusty, and _crawling_ with bugs. Balance had told Naga he could back out, but if Balance was going, so was Naga. No question.

For awhile, there was nothing really to see in the cave. Balance figured this had been a good idea, but felt they'd probably be let down.

Finally, Naga spotted a doorway. It was covered in stones, but it wasn't something that either one of them could pull out of the way. Naga began uncovering it.

"Oh, I wonder what's back there?" Balance said. He was so excited. "Hurry, Naga, let's see, let's see!"

Naga laughed. "Be patient, Balance." Despite saying that, Naga had the door open in a flash. He hurried right in.

Balance laughed. "Wait for me, Naga! How can you even see?"

"Balance!" Naga cried out. "There's a trea-"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. It made the absolute worst noise. It was partially a slam, but part of it sounded like a female screaming. Balance knew it wasn't Naga.

"Naga?" Balance yelled out. "Hey, Naga, you ok in there? The door's stuck. I'll have it open again!" Balance couldn't hear Naga, but figured he was probably just on the other side of the door. "Naga? If you can hear me, I'm almost there!"

Balance managed to open the door, but it was a terrible process, as that door had been shut air tight. Balance freaked out at the thought of Naga not having any air.

"Naga?" Balance figured that with the door partially open, that Naga should have been able to hear him by now.

Still no answer.

"Naga? _Naga_! Answer me!" Balance called out, finally opening the door wide enough to get in, and he hurried through it. "Naga, say something, you're _scaring me_!"

No answer.

"_Naga_!"

Balance heard a small groaning noise. He wasn't entirely sure if it was Naga or not, but he wasn't taking any chances, and he made a direct beeline for the noise.

Sure enough, Naga was there, clutching onto a small, but almost seemingly lit up, tiny treasure chest. Naga had somehow managed to find a _treasure chest_? In this _cave_?

Balance could almost feel the chest pulsating, but wasn't sure if that was the chest itself, or if there was something else in the room that could be causing it. Balance also noticed that his chest was feeling kind of weird. It wasn't painful, but it was kind of numb, maybe, with a hint of soreness, and something else, that he couldn't really put a name on.

But _way_ more importantly than that...

Naga was _unconscious_.

Balance knew for a fact then that the pulsating was real at this point, because he was now able to hear it. The tone was completely low and soft, but he was able to pick up on it.

_What was going on in here?!_

Whatever it was, was managing to completely freak Balance out. He knew he needed to get Naga out of here and _fast_.

"Naga, come on, wake up." Balance put his hands on Naga's shoulders and tried shaking him. "Naga... _Naga_, please, baby, _wake up_!"

Naga barely stirred, but did it enough that Balance knew that Naga was still alive and breathing. Balance needed to get that treasure box and whatever was in it, _away_ from Naga.

"Naga, baby, if you can hear me, we're not taking this home, ok?" Balance whispered gently to Naga. "Ok, Naga? Whatever it's doing to you, I can't handle it. Please... wake up. _Please_, baby. I _need_ you!"

Naga stirred again, this time more than he did earlier. Balance grabbed the chest from him. Before he could put it aside though, he stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel the chest pulsating. Out of pure curiosity and definitely not thinking it through, Balance opened the chest.

It was empty.

Did Naga have the actual treasure on him? Balance threw the chest on the ground. He turned back over to Naga.

"Naga, please wake up. I can't... I can't even imagine living without you. Please _don't do this to me_!"

While shaking Naga again, Balance felt around to see if Naga had the treasure on him. He didn't seem too, but then again, Balance didn't want to touch _every_ part of him.

"_Naga_! _Please_! I _love_ you, baby!"

Well, that seemed to do it. Naga stirred again and finally opened his eyes.

"Naga?" Balance asked.

"Balance?" Naga quietly replied back.

"Naga!" Balance gave him a giant hug. "Naga, you scared me, baby! I thought I had _lost you_!"

"Baby...?" Naga trailed off, still not fully conscious.

"We need to get out of here," Balance said. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I'll try," Naga said. Balance helped him stand up, but Naga immediately fell to the floor again.

"Naga, we need to go," Balance said, as he helped Naga climb onto his back. "Drop the treasure you're holding. We are _not_ taking _this_ home."

"I don't... I don't have anything," Naga managed to say. "There was no treasure in the chest."

Ok, that was weird. What the hell was causing this? Whatever it was, it was time to get the hell out of there. It took awhile, but Balance managed to find the exit to the cave.

Ah, there is was. The beach, the winds, the waves, the sound of seagulls. Balance wasn't sure how long they had been in there, but the sun was already beginning to set, so it must have been awhile.

Balance carefully put Naga down on the spot they had earlier, where their seiza blasters were still laying. He got down on the ground and sat next to him.

"Baby, are you ok?" Balance asked. "You scared the _hell_ out of me."

Whoa. _Wait_! _Hold on_! _Hold_..._ on_!

This was... this was _deja vu_. Right?!

Balance stood up. He had no idea what was going on, but he _knew_ this wasn't the first time that had happened. The same exact events, his same exact thought processes.

Except this time, he was completely aware. Of his surroundings, of the events taking place... and the way he acted the last time he left that cave.

"Naga," he said, "we need to get out of here. Right now."

"Balance," Naga said softly. He was clutching his stomach, and sobbing.

"Naga! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Naga shook his head.

Balance dropped down to the sand and hugged Naga.

"Balance... _I want it_... _more than ever_! I need it _right now_!" Naga shouted.

Balance felt like his soul had left his body. What was _in _that box? Naga was still going through absolute hell, and being there that second time must have made things _worse_!

Balance had _never_ panicked like this before. But at this moment, he felt like he could _die_.

"Naga, you're going to be ok. I'm here, ok? We're going to get the hell out. I promise. We'll never come back here again."

Naga sobbed uncontrollably and began screaming.

"Shh, shh, it's ok, Naga," he said. "We're leaving, ok? Can you put your blaster back on?"

Naga couldn't do it, and Balance figured he didn't need it at the moment anyway, so Balance puts his on and called for his voyager.

"Seiza Go!" screamed the blaster, as the voyager appeared and picked them both up.

Balance flew them back to the ship, Naga at his side, with Naga screaming and sobbing the entire way. Balance tried to fly with just one hand, allowing his free hand to be squeezed by Naga. He had no idea what this physical feeling was, if it was pain or what, but he had _never _seen anyone in a shape like this, in his life. Balance wanted to cry and scream with him, but knew that he needed to be strong for his best friend.

When they got back, Naga was still in the same shape, but Balance was afraid to leave the voyager.

"Naga, listen," he said. "I know you're hurting right now, ok, but if you leave the voyager screaming, everyone is going to be concerned and they'll be asking you a million questions. I'm not planning on telling _anyone_ what you told you me, but they'll insist if you're not calm. You can wait here for me-"

"_No_!" Naga screamed. "I don't want to be _alone_! _Please_!"

"Ok, but you'll need to calm down, ok? I'm here. I have you. I'll pick you up and I won't put you down _no matter what_. We'll go someplace private and work this out. But we need to get out of this planet immediately!" Balance was starting to panic. "I'm going to take us to the bridge. Just _try_ to be calm until we can get out of there, ok?"

Naga nodded, trying to calm himself down.

Balance helped Naga jump on his back, and the two headed for the bridge. Naga tried his best to be calm. Balance still wondered what the physical feeling actually was, but all he could tell was that Naga felt very warm.

"You can keep your head buried in my neck if you have to," Balance said. "We're going in."

The door opened, and of course, _everyone_ was there. They all turned their attention to Naga, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, but wasn't screaming like he had been.

"Balance? Naga?" the Commander said. "What happened?!"

"Naga?" Hammie said. "What's wrong, Naga?!"

Naga buried his face on Balance's neck, but couldn't stop crying.

"Raptor, there's a cave over on that beach. Can you find out anything about it?" Balance said.

Raptor hurried to the computer. "I... I'll find out!" she said.

"Just a few more minutes, Naga, I promise," Balance whispered.

"Are you injured, Naga?" Stinger said. "If so we need to-"

"I'm telling you, he's _fine_," Balance said.

"He's not _fine_!" shouted Champ.

"He _is_, and don't scream! Let Raptor figure this out!"

After just a minute of Raptor looking, she turned to the crew. "From what I see, this cave contains a treasure called the Bilita Mpash Box. It's a chest with an invisible treasure in it."

"An invisible treasure?" Spada asked.

"It says it can't be seen or heard with a normal humanoid body, whatever that means."

_The pulsating! It was the treasure itself! I could hear it, but I couldn't see it_, Balance thought.

Raptor went on. "But this treasure supposedly, it's very well known on this planet, and apparently what it does is it finds a person's deepest, darkest desire, and brings it to the surface, and the person physically suffers until their desire is met. It apparently can also bend time, which was a spell that a once powerful being put into it to keep people away from it."

_Naga wanting to get pregnant... is his deepest, darkest desire?_ Balance thought. He then added, out loud: "That explains it. Those three weeks I lost..."

"What three weeks?" Stinger asked.

"Huh?" Balance said. "The three weeks you guys said I was gone."

"When?" Raptor asked.

"Since we've been on this planet," Balance said.

"But we just landed here yesterday," Kotaro said.

Balance could feel Naga getting warmer, and his sobs were turning into grunts and groans. "Listen, I don't have time to explain, but we need to get out of here. Please, can we leave?"

"You need to tell us what happened," Tsurugi said.

"_No_!"

"Balance!" Tsurugi said. "What's wrong with Naga?"

"Ok, look," Balance said. "We found it, ok? We didn't know. We just thought it would be fun to explore. And we were both affected by it. Do you really need to know anything else?!"

Naga began screaming again, taking everyone by surprise.

"Naga!" the team cried out, almost in unison.

"Look, I need to get him out of here," Balance said. "Let us go. _Please_!"

The Commander stepped in. "Raptor, set a course. We'll get out of here immediately." He turned to Balance. "Go take care of Naga now. And if you need us, let us know."

"I'll help Naga, too-" Hammie started.

"No, you _won't_," Balance said. "Don't interfere! _Nobody interfere_! You _all _got that?!"

Hammie was offended, but backed off. The others slowly nodded their heads.

Balance bolted out of the room and right into his own. With the time bends, he wasn't sure if Naga's room was still trashed or not, and it was honestly the last thing he wanted Naga to deal with. He gently put Naga on the bed.

"Naga, it's ok," Balance said, walking over to the room's controls. "I'm locking the deadbolt, and turning on the sound proofer. No one can hear us in here, I promise, ok?"

Naga nodded.

Balance sat on the bed next to Naga, grabbing Naga's hand again.

"Scream as hard as you need to," Balance said. "Ok?"

Balance sat helpless. He looked out the window, and Raptor had gotten the ship away pretty fast. But apparently, leaving the planet didn't make Naga's pain go away. He needed to figure something else out.

Wait. Balance had been affected, too, hadn't he?

He remember the weird feeling in his chest. Was this similar to what Naga was feeling like in his stomach? Naga didn't seem affected by it at first, either. Or maybe he just mistook it for a stomach ache or something. Oh, maybe that's why he went to sleep in the sand.

How did Balance get rid of _his_ pain? His didn't last as long as Naga's was lasting. He knew what his _own _deepest, darkest desire was-_Oh_!

Balance interrupted his own thought with an idea.

It wasn't a great idea, it was actually pretty weird, and he didn't know if it would even work or not. But it was there to try. The worst that could happen would be that it failed, right?

Balance slipped out of Naga's hand, and got off of the bed. He then moved Naga into an interesting position, with Naga lying all the way back, his legs spread wide, his knees up, and his feet flat on the bed.

"Balance..." Naga mumbled. "What..."

"I just want to try something, ok? If it doesn't work, we'll have to try something else."

Naga nodded.

Balance continued by rubbing his hands gently on Naga's thighs. It seemed to at least be calming his screaming down, and after a few minutes, it stopped altogether.

Ok, so this might be worth a shot.

Balance climbed back on the bed and got as close to Naga as possible. He pressed himself up against Naga, positioning Naga's legs around him, trying to get them to squeeze his hips.

"Balance?"

"Don't loosen them," Balance said. "Keep them tight for me, ok? I know you're fighting right now, but stay with me, ok?"

Naga nodded.

Balance had to calm his nerves a bit for this next part. At this point, not only was he worried about this idea failing, but he was also afraid of offending Naga.

Balance placed his hands on Naga's hips... and began thrusting.

Now, obviously, there was nothing to actually thrust, and Naga was fully clothed anyway, but Balance faked the thrusting... harder and harder...

"Balance, what are you doing?" Naga asked quietly.

"Getting you pregnant," Balance said. "Just... try to imagine this, ok? And if this doesn't work, we'll move on, ok?"

Naga looked extremely confused but agreed.

Balance kept up with the thrusting for awhile. Naga was still crying, but he was a lot calmer than he had been before. Soon, Balance stopped, and collapsed in the bed next to Naga. He took a hold of him and just held him in his arms.

"Balance, that was weird," Naga said.

"I know," Balance said. Balance reached over and put his hand on Naga's stomach. He couldn't tell anymore if he was still warm or not, because of the jacket. Naga must have understood, as he then unzipped the jacket and untucked his shirt. Balance reached in and put his hand directly on Naga's stomach.

"Still pretty warm," Balance said. "This part is going to be even weirder, ok?"

Naga nodded.

Balance took his hand and placed it lower on Naga's abdomen. He pressed down just slightly, then started massaging him. Naga closed his eyes, and after a few minutes, managed to form a small smile. Soon, Balance stopped the massage, and gently pressed down again.

"Naga, do you know what that is?"

"No..."

"That's your baby, Naga."

"My baby?"

"Yes," Balance said. "He's growing, inside of you."

"She," Naga corrected.

"Oh, you want a girl?"

"Yeah..."

"Ok, then. _She's_ growing inside of you. Very quickly right now. And, oh, yeah," Balance said. "I guess I need to apologize. I'm kind of made of metal, and it's just going to make your labor go _so much smoother_."

Naga started laughing. Balance felt relieved, not only that Naga seemed to be feeling better, but also that he had picked up on the sarcasm.

"Actually, the kid would probably be a carbon copy of you, physically. I mean, you got that cloning thing going on, right? That's kind of hard to think about though, could you imagine? A child with your snake like body, with my explosive personality... honestly, this is scarier than the thought of me having to pay child support..."

Naga had the giggles at this point. Balance's jokes weren't very funny, but if it was keeping Naga calm, he would keep it going.

Balance stopped for a second. "Imagine this, she's kicking inside of you. I know you can't actually imagine it, neither can I, but you said you've daydreamed before..."

Naga nodded, and closed his eyes.

Balance stayed silent for a few minutes. Naga had his eyes closed, but he was smiling.

Naga soon began crying again, but Balance could tell he was not crying from pain, so he didn't say anything. It was more of a gentle cry. Balance was hoping it was relief, or happiness, or both.

Soon, Naga opened his eyes again, and smiled at Balance. He whispered, "Thank you."

"Is this helping at all?"

"A lot," Naga said. "This strange feeling is going away. But I don't understand how it's helping."

"This is roleplay, I guess?" Balance said. "I thought maybe that if we pretended we could do this, that your body might be satisfied. Still weird, though."

"It's not that weird," Naga said. "I actually... kind of like it a little..."

"Good to know," Balance said.

"Why?" Naga asked.

_Oh_, oops. "No reason," Balance replied with a chuckle.

"How did you figure that this would help?"

Balance paused. "Well, I'll tell you, but I guess I gotta confess something."

Naga sat up a little, but his legs stayed in the same position. "What is it, Balance?"

"Well, you know how this was supposed to bring out our deepest, darkest desire?"

"Yeah?" Naga paused. "Wait. What was _yours_?"

"It was something I was able to act out," Balance said. "And I did it. I never would have ever tried it before. And I think I need to apolo-"

"You kissed me," Naga said, bluntly. "Twice, and would have gotten the third one if Hammie hadn't interrupted you."

Balance was taken aback. "How did you know, you were passed out."

"I wasn't," Naga said. "I was trying to relax, because this weird feeling was starting up. I thought if I closed my eyes and relaxed it would go away. I was awake the entire time."

"Naga..." Balance said. "Wait... I mean, I didn't-"

"It's fine," Naga said. "I actually kind of liked it."

"Well," Balance said. For the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to say.

"Balance," Naga said. "After you kissed me, you felt fine, didn't you? You felt it, but it never got as far as mine did. Because you were able to act it out, right?"

"I guess that's what happened," Balance said slowly. "But I didn't mean to do nothin' bad. I mean, I really-I shouldn't have kissed ya-"

"You weren't in control," Naga said. "I understand. We just both had very different deep, dark desires." He paused for a moment. "And stop apologizing. I'm very happy you kissed me."

"You are?" Balance said, a bit shocked.

"Yes," Naga said, "because I never want you to _ever _go through anything like this. Ever."

"Oh, _Naga_..." Balance said. "Now _I'm_ going to cry."

Naga smiled painfully.

"How are you feeling now?"

"It's better, but it's still there," Naga admitted.

"Oh," Balance said, standing up. "I know why."

Balance walked around and stood in between Naga's positioned legs.

"Balance?"

"Well, you gonna push, or what?"

Naga was suddenly lost in laughter.

"This isn't the time for laughter," Balance said, chuckling, "this is showtime. Labor hurts, and you're giving birth to metal, and all you can do is _laugh_!" He chuckled. "My apologies again, next time, you should get knocked up by an _organic_ being."

Naga had a hard time coming off of the laughter. Balance's jokes were dumb, but hey, whatever Naga found funny, right?

When Naga did calm down, Balance had him close his eyes and picture himself in labor. Not as fun as just pretending you can feel a baby inside of you, but nonetheless, this was still a stupid spell, which probably needed to be seen the whole way through.

Naga had a much harder time with this part than the others. Balance wasn't exactly sure what Naga needed to be doing, either. But Naga sat up, kept his eyes closed, and somehow managed to talk his way through "labor". It wasn't detailed, and Balance could tell that Naga had no real clue was labor was _actually_ like, but this _was_ his body, so it was probably ok.

Soon, Naga took a deep breath, let it go, and fell backwards on the bed.

"Naga?"

"I can't feel it anymore," Naga said with a grin.

"Oh, that's radical!" Balance said, with a bounce. "I'm glad! Oh, and look, after all of this hard work, you have a daughter." Balance handed Naga the smallest pillow he had.

Naga was giggling, but held the pillow like a baby. Balance climbed back up on the bed and got as close to him as possible.

"So, what's her name?" Balance said with a laugh.

"I'm naming her after you," Naga said.

"Really? Balance? That doesn't even sound right for a girl," Balance argued.

"Well, what's the girl equivalent of Balance?"

"Hmm." Balance thought for a moment. "When I was like, three, my mom had put me in a dress. I guess it was cool back then. And when my aunt jokingly asked me my name, my mom told her it was Bilancia. So... I guess... maybe that?"

Naga nodded. "Ok, this is Bilancia Ray. My beloved pillow baby."

Now it was Balance's turn to burst out in laughter. After a moment, Naga yawned.

"Oh," Balance said, "you've got to be tired."

"Yeah," Naga said. "I haven't slept at all lately."

"Well, we'll get you to bed," Balance said. But as soon as he stood up, he remembered. "Naga, I think your room is still trashed. I don't want you sleeping in there until we can get it cleaned up."

"Oh," Naga said, "I'm sure there's an extra bed some-"

"Just stay here," Balance said.

"Are you sure, Balance?"

"Yeah, I'll sleep on the floor."

"No," Naga said. "You sleep on the bed."

"You need it more than I do."

"Then sleep with me on the bed," Naga said.

Balance looked at Naga. "Hey, are you sure about that?"

"You really wouldn't mind a bit," Naga said. "After all, your love for me is your deepest, darkest desire, right?"

Well. Balance was never going to live _that _down.

"All right, Naga. I'll go get your pajamas. Just relax, ok? And hold onto that pillow."

Naga smiled.

Balance walked out of the room, and as he was walking to Naga's room, he was stopped.

"Balance, is Naga ok?" Champ asked.

"Oh, yeah, he's fine now," Balance said. "Could you please alert the others? I need to get Naga into bed for the night."

"Then, where is he?" asked another voice.

Balance turned. "He's in my room, Stinger. I'm getting his pajamas and he's going to bed. He's well taken care of."

Stinger didn't argue, but looked like he was pretty curious about their unusual sleeping arrangements.

Balance quickly entered Naga's room. The room was not in the same shape it was before. Naga was usually neat as a pin, and this time, the room looked no different than it normally did. But he decided not to tell Naga that. Balance found Naga's pajamas, and headed back into his room, where Naga was waiting for him.

With no clothes on.

"Ah, I kept you waiting, I see," Balance said, throwing his pajamas at him.

"I just want to get to sleep," Naga replied.

Balance looked away as Naga got into those pajamas, and turned back around when Naga climbed into bed, making sure that pillow was with him. Balance turned off the light, and climbed into bed as well.

"Good night, Naga."

"Good night, Balance."

The two got quiet for a minute, but then Naga said one last thing before falling asleep.

"Oh, by the way. Balance... I love you, too."


	2. Conclusion

Balance woke up happy.

It had taken him a long time to fall asleep, because of Naga's last words for the night.

_"Oh, by the way. Balance... I love you, too."_

When he opened his eyes, he realized he was alone. Naga must have gotten up early for some reason. He didn't see his small pillow, so Naga must have taken it. Balance climbed out of bed, and quickly made his way to the bridge.

"Good morning, Balance!" Raptor said.

"Hey-hey," Balance said, looking around the room.

"Good morning," Naga told Balance.

"Hey, buddy," Balance said. "Did you get up early?"

Naga looked at him, puzzled. "No earlier than I usually do," he said.

"And, uh, oh-hey! You got my pillow?"

"What pillow?" Naga asked.

"The little one," Balance said. "The one we used last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Balance leaned in and whispered, "You know, the one in my room?"

"What were you doing in Balance's room, Naga?" Hammie teased.

"And what exactly did you use it _for_?" Garu asked.

"I wasn't there," Naga said.

"But... you..." Balance stopped. Was this...? He then realized something else. "Hey, where's everyone else?"

"Eh?" Hammie said. "Who's missing?"

Balance looked around the room and counted nine people, including himself.

"Well, Kotaro... and Tsurugi... and Stinger-"

"_Stinger_?!" Champ cried out. "Why would _he_ be here?!"

"Who's Kotaro and Tsurugi?" Hammie asked.

"Balance, are you all right?" asked the Commander.

"Of course I am," Balance said. "Why wouldn't I..." Balance paused, confirming the time bend in his mind. "Oh, um... _ohhhh_..."

"What's going on with you, Balance?" the Commander asked. "Are you sick or something?"

"Do robots even get sick?" Garu asked.

"I'm not a _robot_, I'm a _mechanical lifeform_!" Balance said, a bit too loudly. Wow, he hadn't had to say _that_ in a long time...

"Maybe you should go back to bed," Raptor said, innocently.

"No, I'm fine." Balance said, trying to be calm. As calm as he could actually be, anyway. He looked around the room, trying to figure out where in time he had landed. He couldn't just ask, they'd never even believe him. But it was after they met Stinger, but before he had joined up, judging by Champ's reaction to Balance's question. Wait... his bedroom... he had a calendar... "Uh... yes," Balance quickly said. "I'm totally sick. Later!"

Balance turned around and ran back to his room. As he had been starting to suspect, all of his old treasures that he had lost, were still carefully placed on his shelf, along with his calendar. He picked it up.

"Oh, this is right after we first met Stinger," he said to himself. "Before we even made it to Earth." He put the calendar down. "Wait... if I'm still affected by the time bend... that means... Naga..." Balance couldn't think about the possibility of Naga in the true present time, suffering without him. He wondered where exactly he went during these time bends.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Balance said.

Naga walked into the room. "Balance, are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, buddy!" Balance was very happy to see Naga there.

"You're sick, though?" Naga asked.

"Oh, yeah, but I'll be fine." Balance banged on his chest for some reason, like that would have proven it. "See? Just fine! _Agepoyo way_!"

"Agepoyo way," Naga said, the most deadpan that Balance had heard from him in a _long_ time. "By the way, I do not have your pillow."

"Oh," Balance said with a fake chuckle. He turned around and grabbed a random pillow from his bed. "I found it. I don't know why I thought _you_ had it. Silly me!"

Naga nodded, and walked out of the room.

Balance threw the pillow back on the bed. There really wasn't much he could do at this point. It was also a bit depressing seeing Naga with no emotions again, but he supposed it was better than seeing him in all of that pain. He wondered how long this was going to last, and how exactly he would get back to the current date. He also wondered how long he had been gone, and if Naga had been suffering that entire time...

How long was this supposed to last? Could he find his way back? Was this where he went during those three weeks he lost?

Balance started pacing. There had to be some kind of way to stop the time bends.

How had he gotten here in the first place?

Wait. Sleeping. Was sleeping the solution?

He had been asleep when he jumped three weeks into the future. He had also been asleep when he found himself in his current bend.

Maybe all he needed was a nap?

Balance climbed back into bed. He grabbed his favorite pillow... oh, how he had missed that old pillow... and attempted to fall back asleep...

For an hour.

With no luck.

Balance finally sat up, frustrated. He looked around the room, as if the answer was going to just come to him.

Yeah. It didn't come to him.

_Come on, Balance. You're smarter than this._

Wait.

There was a _Kyutama_ he could use for this!

Balance raced out of the room and straight back to the bridge.

"Balance, are you feeling better?" Naga asked him.

"I need the Ohitsuji Kyutama," Balance said.

"For what?" Hammie asked.

Balance glared at her. "None of your business," he said.

The Commander held out the Kyutama. "What are you planning on doing with this, Balance?"

Balance grabbed it from him without answering.

"Balance?" Raptor said. "You know that'll put somebody to sleep, right?"

"Balance, what are you doing?" Garu asked.

Balance ignored them all, and as quick as he could, Balance loaded the Kyutama in his seiza blaster, and used it on himself.

Balance was out like a light.

* * *

Balance woke up to an alarm clock ringing. It took him a minute to fully be aware of his surroundings. When he did, he realized he was in a room with a bright, white bed. It looked like a hotel room, but he wasn't quite sure that that was where he was. As he looked around the room for clues, he realized that there was a television.

"Radical!" Balance said. He turned on the television and looked for a news station. News stations always had the date on them, right, and if he was lucky-

"No way!" Balance said. "I'm _seven_ years ahead of _time_ now? Wait... exactly seven years from the current present day? That's... oddly specific..."

Balance noticed then that there was a second bed in the room, and it had definitely been slept in. He saw a suitcase on it, but it wasn't opened. He realized that he could hear the shower going. He figured Naga would be out of there soon enough, and then maybe he could try to figure out what was going on.

Balance got on the bed and put his feet up. This was a pretty tame time bend, but he still wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. The bed was really, really comfortable. He closed his eyes, hoping he'd be able to doze off.

No sooner than he got _nearly_ there, he heard the bathroom door open.

"Good morning, Balance."

Balance sat straight up at the man in the room, who had walked in wearing nothing but a towel.

"L-Lucky?" Balance managed to say.

"Did you sleep ok?" Lucky asked him.

Balance was confused. Why was he sharing a room with _Lucky_, and not _Naga_?

Suddenly, Balance didn't feel so well.

He wouldn't call it _pain_ exactly. It felt almost like it was asleep, but instead of being numb, it was _extremely _sore. He also felt incredibly warm, but not hot. He could also feel a pounding in his chest, _almost_ like a heartbeat that had doubled in speed, but Balance could tell it wasn't his heart. It was extremely irritating but didn't hurt a bit. Like Naga had before his pain doubled entering the cave a second time, he was able to breathe through it. Which was great, because he had no intention of calling any attention to himself at the moment.

"I guess so," Balance said quickly.

"Good," Lucky said. "Today's going to be a great day!"

"Great?" Balance asked.

"Yeah!" Lucky opened the suitcase, and sure enough, nothing in it was silver. "I can't believe Hammie's getting married today! _Yossha Lucky_!"

"Married?" Balance asked.

Lucky grinned. "I always wondered if they'd be married. Hammie always did have a soft spot for him."

Balance nodded slowly, just trying to go along with things, despite the fact that he had no idea who Hammie was marrying. Was it Naga? Was that why _Naga_ wasn't there? This must have been why the pain had started up again. "Yeah," Balance finally said, rubbing on his chest. "I knew for a long time they'd end up married."

Lucky grinned, and went to the closet and pulled out his suit. "You should get ready, we need to leave soon. Everyone is probably waiting."

Balance nodded. Maybe Naga was just in a different room? Balance couldn't think of a reason why he'd share a room with Lucky, and not Naga. Balance found his formal wear, and for a few minutes, they got ready in silence.

"I'm just about ready, are you?" Lucky finally asked.

"Yeah," Balance said. "I'm ready."

Balance stood in front of the mirror next to Lucky.

"We look great!" Lucky said. "Not that anyone will be paying attention to _us_."

Balance nodded and followed Lucky out the door, and out of the, apparently hotel, and he saw the rest of the Kyurangers there, minus Hammie and Naga. Garu's wife and son were there. Stinger and Kotaro- an all grown up Kotaro- were both with women that Balance didn't recognize. Spada and Raptor were holding hands, and Balance could see matching rings on their fingers.

Everyone was talking, laughing, and smiling... Balance tried to remain quiet. He was in no mood for fun, and his chest was still sore and warm. Nobody said anything to him about being quiet... something was really weird here.

When they got to the chapel, everyone piled out of the limo. They, not very quietly, made their way in.

And on that way in, Balance saw something surprising.

A photo of the bride and groom.

Hammie, and... _Hoshi Minato_?!

This made no sense to Balance. If Naga wasn't the one marrying Hammie, then _where was he_?

Balance couldn't contain it anymore, and finally whispered to Lucky, "Naga...?"

Lucky stopped dead in his tracks. "Balance..."

Balance paused. Lucky wasn't smiling anymore.

"I figured you'd miss him especially, today. But remember what Hammie is doing in his memory? It's why she picked the date, to honor him."

"Naga?" Balance whispered. He was _dead_? He had _died_ on the _present_ day?

"You were ok with this before, you even gave Hammie your blessing. She was afraid this would happen..."

"No," Balance said. "I'm still fine." _Ok_, Balance thought to himself, _remember, this isn't reality. Naga's not really dead. This is just an alternate timeline... _"It's just... um... I just really miss Naga, that's all."

"I understand," Lucky said quietly.

Balance knew that Naga was still alive in the current present time. But now that he knew he needed to get back as quickly as he could. He needed to sleep again.

Well. This was going to be difficult. He couldn't just sleep through Hammie's wedding, right?

The ceremony itself bored Balance, but he knew not to fall asleep. He probably just wasn't a wedding type of guy. He did have to admit that Hammie looked beautiful that day, with a flowy white gown with green diamonds. He also noticed that her flowers... and many of the decorations... were silver. A tribute to Naga, maybe? Actually, Balance liked that. Naga had gone from a man with no emotions, to a man with plenty of emotions, and love for his comrades. When the ceremony was _finally_ over, everyone made their way into a huge room set up for a reception.

Balance was ready for more boredom, but he thought that _maybe_ he could fall asleep during the reception. No one there was paying any attention to him, and- oh!

An _open bar_!

Hammie sure did know how to throw a party.

And what a _fun_ way for Balance to pass out!

As soon as Balance felt it was socially acceptable to start drinking, he did. He tried to be discreet about it, as much as he could with alcohol in his system. He did notice some of the other Kyurangers giving him glares, but... he needed this anyway, whether he slept or not.

Balance did manage to stay on his best behavior. He started getting some pretty nasty looks (mostly from Garu's wife, strangely enough. Balance assumed this wasn't the first time he had gotten drunk around Garu's son, who, if he had to guess, was probably about three years old). But he kept going with it, making sure to be as quiet and calm as possible. Not only was it helping with coping over his emotional pain with Naga, it was also helping with his own physical pain.

The reception had actually been pretty fun. He got up and danced a bit, but mostly, he sat by himself and drank. Illusion or not, this was still Hammie's day, and he wasn't going to do anything to ruin it. He also figured it would be easier to pass out that way.

The best part of the reception, was a speech by Hammie. She spoke of the Kyurangers, and also recited a poem about Naga. The poem itself was beautiful, and Balance somehow managed to record it. He wasn't sure if it would still be there when he returned to the present, but if it was, he wanted to cherish it. He didn't realize how much of a soft spot Hammie seemed to have had for him. He turned to look at the rest of the Kyurangers after Hammie was finished.

Every single one of them was crying.

Balance promised himself that he would remember that in the future.

As he was finally able to drift off, Balance smiled. Naga was loved by his comrades.

* * *

"Balance? _Balance_! Wake up, Balance!"

Balance stirred a bit, trying to wake up, but he was having a hard time doing that.

"_Balance_!" Kotaro shouted. "It's Naga! Wake _up_!"

Just hearing Naga's name was enough to wake Balance from the dead. Balance didn't know when he was at again, but if Naga was still alive, it couldn't possibly have been too late. He sat up straight, and realized he was in own bed.

"Kotaro, what's wrong? Where's Naga?"

"On the bridge," Kotaro said. "He's acting the same as he was last night when you brought him in. He's sobbing and screaming and he's asking for you!"

"Naga..." Balance climbed out of bed and the two of them raced to the bridge.

When Balance got there, he wasn't quite ready for the sight he saw, even though he was expecting it. Naga was sitting at the pool table, hunched over, one fist pounding on the table, and the other clutching his stomach. He was sobbing uncontrollably again, and his groans were almost echoing. Hammie had a hold of him, and the rest of the team had gathered closely around him.

"Hey-hey!" Balance said as he raced over to his best friend. "Give Naga some breathing room!" He pulled Hammie aside, to her dismay, and put his arms around Naga. "Hey, buddy, it's ok, I'm here, I'm here now, ok? You're safe with me." He held out his hand, which Naga took quickly, and began squeezing him.

"Yeah, _really_ safe!" Hammie shouted, her voice dripping from sarcasm. "You said last night he was _fine _and that you'd take care of him. He's _not _fine! Maybe you should go away and let _us_ handle it!"

"Hammie, you don't even know _what_ you're trying to handle, _ok_?" Balance shouted back. "First thing is he needs to breathe, and he can't do that if everyone is on top of him!" The only good thing about the screaming match was that he knew it was the morning after he had tried to take care of Naga (and obviously failed). Which means they had been on the planet for two days, if he was counting correctly.

Champ ran over and brought out a chair for Naga to lay on. Balance helped him onto it as quickly as he could. Once Naga was laying down, Balance found himself panicking, not knowing what his next move would be.

"What are we going to do?" Kotaro asked.

Balance found he had to stop for a moment and just focus. Getting Naga away from the planet didn't help. Roleplaying only helped for a minute. And he himself was still experiencing bended time.

"How about you start with telling us what's going on?" Tsurugi said.

"Tsurugi's right," the Commander said. "Please do that now."

The rest of the team agreed.

Balance looked around the room. All eyes were on him, except for Naga, who was still crying.

"First, I _need_ to take care of Naga. Hey, do we have any alcohol?" Balance asked.

"Of course not," Spada replied.

Well, there went that idea. "Kotaro, can you do me a quick favor?" Balance quickly asked.

"Of course!" Kotaro said.

"Go into my room, and find me the smallest pillow. It's either on the right side of the bed, or on the floor somewhere."

Kotaro nodded and ran out of the door.

"It's going to be ok, Naga. Just remember what we talked about last night, ok? I'm going to figure this out somehow."

Naga nodded painfully. "Ba... Balance..."

"You don't have to talk. Just _think_, ok? You can use your imagination."

Naga looked around the room, and Balance could tell what he was thinking.

"Don't worry about them," Balance said. "They can't hear your thoughts. But they are concerned for you, ok? They don't want to see you like this." He turned. "Can anyone get him a blanket? I should have asked Kotaro to bring that, too."

Spada ran off to grab one. Kotaro returned quickly and handed the pillow to Balance, who turned around and handed it back to Naga.

"You need to use this, even if it- if _she_\- helps only a little bit. You're going to get through this," Balance whispered to him.

Spada returned with a blanket, and Balance threw it over Naga. For the next minute or so, Balance just whispered to Naga, trying to get Naga to get back into the mode they were at the night before. It was definitely harder trying to do this in a room full of people, and he prayed that nobody was able to hear anything he was saying. If they did, nobody said a word.

Once Naga was calm enough to relax, Balance stopped to refocus. For a moment, the entire room was calm.

"Ok, now tell us," Tsurugi said.

"We need to know," Lucky said. "You can't go through this alone."

"I want to help Naga, too," Hammie said, and Kotaro agreed.

"I'll _tell_ you!" Balance cried out. "Look... I'm sorry for the secrets, ok? But things... are really weird right now." Balance sat back down at the pool table. "It was that treasure, that Bilita Mpash Box thing. Naga and I decided to run off and explore. The cave was abandoned and there was nobody around. We didn't know there was anything in there, and Naga _found_ it."

"That was the treasure that brought out your deepest desire?" Kotaro asked.

"Right," Balance said. "It brought out mine, and Naga's desires. My desire was met pretty quickly, but Naga..." He trailed off and hesitated. "And apparently this thing causes a severe pain... or physical reaction... I can't really tell what it is. But it's like, a craving, he said. In his stomach."

The team looked pretty confused.

"This is... unbelievable," Stinger said.

"Plus..." Balance said, trailing off a little.

"... what is it, Balance?" the Commander asked.

"It also causes time bends." Balance wasn't sure if anyone was going to believe him on this one.

"That's right," Raptor said. "The booby trap to keep people away."

"I know I can't really _prove_ the time bends," Balance said, "but they-"

"Time bends?" Tsurugi asked.

"I've been caught in several time bends," Balance said. "I _think_ it's only been two days since we got here, but my time is all screwed up. It skips ahead, and goes backwards for me. It's even looped a couple of times. I know this sounds unbelievable-"

"We believe you," Lucky said.

"You... you do?" Balance asked, a bit surprised.

"We have no reason not to believe you," Lucky said. "Because Raptor told us last night that they were possible."

"Lucky..."

"The question now is, how do we stop it?" Champ asked.

"I don't know," Balance said, after a brief pause. "I've tried a few different things, and I can't stop the time bends. I've realized that the time _bends_ when I sleep, and _loops_ when I'm close to the treasure. I don't think there's anything I can do to stop it."

"We just have to destroy the box, don't we?" Champ asked.

"Champ." Balance started to panic a little. "Every time I go into that cave, I hit another time loop. And every time that happens, Naga's pain gets worse. I can't put him through that anymore. His pain is _my fault_."

"It's not your fault!" the Commander cried out. "It's that box. You didn't _do_ this to Naga!"

The team agreed.

"We need to do something, and do it fast," Garu said.

"Raptor," Stinger said, "we need to go back to that planet."

"_No_!" Balance screamed. "I can't do that to Naga! There _has_ to be another way!"

"There is... no other way," Naga piped up.

Balance looked over. "Naga..."

"I want it gone, and I don't want you to be trapped in time anymore. We have no choice," Naga told him.

"But your pain _will _get worse!" Balance cried out. "I can handle the time bends. They're freaking me out, but I can handle them. I'm not putting you through that, or risking you getting caught in the time bends, either."

"You're not the one putting me through it," Naga said. "It's that treasure. And if anyone is to blame, _I'm_ the one who opened it in the first place." His voice dropped to a volume so low that only Balance could hear him. "Plus, I'm the one with the physically impossible desire."

"Naga's right," Tsurugi said. "We have no choice. Raptor, set a course."

Raptor raced over to the computer and got to work.

Balance knelt down to Naga. "Naga, are you _sure_ about this?"

Naga nodded. "It needs to stop. I can take the pain. I'm more worried about _you_."

Balance chuckled. "You're lying about taking the pain, buddy." Balance hesitated. "But I'm going. You don't deserve to be going through this and it's the only way to stop it. Just... just hold onto that pillow tight, ok?" Balance did _not_ want to be doing this... but if Hammie's wedding in the future was of any indication, if he _didn't_ do this, he was going to lose his best friend. And this time, it wouldn't be an illusion.

Naga nodded and held the pillow close to his chest, and closed his eyes. Balance tucked him in with the blanket, and kept a hold of his shoulder.

"I'll get us there as fast as I can," Raptor said. "We can't use the warp, we're too close, it's too dangerous."

Balance nodded. "You're going to be ok, buddy," Balance whispered to Naga. "I'm going to end this for you. I swear it."

Naga nodded. Balance could tell that his pain wasn't even fading like it had last night. Balance was ready to cry. He allowed Naga to snuggle up to his arm. Balance had considered taking him back to the bedroom, but Naga didn't seem to want to move. Balance knew the team wanted to help him, but there was no way that they could, without Naga's deepest desire being revealed.

After just a few minutes of listening to Naga in agony, Balance decided to do something he had the night before, and risk the weird looks (or even comments) from the rest of the team. He slowly unzipped Naga's jacket and untucked his shirt. He pressed down on a spot, hopefully near the same spot he had found the night before, and starting massaging Naga. Balance whispered into Naga's ear the entire time. While he did this, he tried not to look around to see the reactions of everybody. Nobody said anything, and Balance didn't even hear a word or a giggle.

Balance stayed by Naga's side the entire trip back to the planet, keeping up with the massages and reassurances. When they finally landed, Naga was at the very least calm. When Balance stood up to get ready to leave, Naga grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Balance, don't leave me," Naga whimpered. "I'm going with you!"

"Naga..." Balance felt his heart drop. "You _can't_! You're _way_ _too weak_! Besides, I'm the only one going."

"No, you're not," Champ said. "_I'm_ going with you."

Balance turned to him. "_No_," he said firmly. "I'm the only one!"

"I'm also going," Stinger said.

The rest of the team agreed. They all wanted to go.

"_No_," Balance said. "I'm already affected by this. I also know right where the treasure box is. I'm not risking anyone else going in there. Do you _not_ see Naga's _pain_?"

"We see it," Tsurugi said. "And that's why we're going. You can't go alone!"

"I _can_ and I _will_," Balance shouted.

Naga began crying again. "Balance, _I'm_..."

Balance turned back to Naga. "_You're not going, and neither is anyone else_!" Balance bellowed out. "I won't be the cause of _anyone else _go through that!" Balance looked out the window, and saw the abandoned beach that he desperately wanted to forget.

"Balance is right," the Commander said. "We need to be careful. This could affect everybody. We don't even know how close we have to be to be affect-"

Naga suddenly let out the most awful, devastating scream that Balance had ever heard.

"We're _too close_!" Balance said. "Get the ship a_way_!" He grabbed Naga's hand again. "It's ok, buddy, I'm going! I'm going _right now_!" Balance tried to get up to leave, but Naga pulled him back down. "Naga, what are you-"

Despite the amount of pain Naga was in... despite his tears, and the sweats, and, the newest symptom, an uncontrollable shaking... Naga pulled Balance even closer, and gave him the most passionate kiss that Balance had ever gotten.

It was even better that the ones that he had given Naga on the beach, because of the fact that Naga actually _had _lips, and was able to make _real_ contact with Balance's face.

Balance _loved it_, but this was a horrible time to think about that. He also didn't want to think about the team's reaction behind him.

"Naga," Balance said after a minute, "what was _that_ for?"

"You..." Naga started. "To keep you... out of pain longer... Since I... won't be there..."

"Naga," Balance replied with a smile. "I love it, but you need to concentrate on your own pain, ok? I'm absolutely fine! I'll be back soon, I promise." Balance tucked Naga in again, making sure he had his baby pillow. Balance got up with and headed to the door.

To his surprise, he was followed by most of his team. He turned around quickly.

"You _can't go_!" Balance cried out. "It's too dangerous!"

"He's right," Champ said. "I'm the only one who's going with him."

"Champ?" Stinger asked. "What are you-"

"Raptor said that the treasure could only been seen by non humanoids. That means that there's a good chance that only Balance, Raptor, and myself can see it. And _Raptor_ is _not going_," Champ said. He turned to Balance. "Please. Let me help you. We'll keep everyone else here. And between the two of us, we'll do this fast. Besides, I have no deep, dark secret desires."

"I don't believe _that_ for a minute," Stinger said. "Come on, Champ. This _isn't right_!"

"It's _best for everyone_!" Champ cried out.

Stinger just stared at Champ, not knowing what to say anymore.

"All right," Balance finally said. "Champ, we'll go. But _no one else_. I remember right where the box is."

"Let's go," Champ said.

Balance turned to Naga one more time before the two of them ran straight out of the ship. "I love ya, buddy."

Balance and Champ raced to the cave. When they got to the entrance, Balance hesitantly entered. As soon as he did, he realized the pain in his chest had returned.

"Balance?" Champ asked. "Are you ok?"

Balance tried to nod, but he couldn't. He clutched his chest and nearly fell forward after how sudden it had come on.

"_Balance_!" Champ cried out. "Balance!" He raced over to him and tried to help him up.

"My... chest," Balance managed to say. "Same... pain as Naga..." Balance groaned.

"Balance, you need to tell me where the treasure is," Champ said. "You can't go in there."

"I _have_ to," Balance said. "This is for _Naga_." Balance held out his hand, hoping for Champ to pull him up, which he did.

"Balance, _be careful_," Champ said. Balance figured Champ knew he was fighting a losing battle. As the two headed down into the cave, Champ continued. "But why would your pain come back? You said your desire was fulfilled? Did it have anything to do with Naga kissing you?"

Balance was embarrassed, but wasn't in the mood for hiding it. "I thought..." Balance said, trying to talk and ignore his pain, "that I was. But if that was it, why is my pain back? Unless Naga just _now_ decided he doesn't love me anymore..."

Champ thought for a moment. "Are you _sure_ your desire is Naga's love?"

"What else would make sense?" Balance asked. "I didn't think I was in the love with the guy, but... maybe I am? But-"

"But then why are you _hurting_ now?" Champ stopped to move a few loose rocks out of the way. "That doesn't make any sense."

Balance clutched his chest again. The now familiar pain was back. He also felt that he _absolutely_ needed to be near Naga at the moment. That feeling was extremely _overwhelming_, to the point that he almost immediately turned back around to head back to Naga.

He stopped for a moment, knowing that if he didn't calm down, he'd leave, and things would just get worse. He had to use the cave wall as support. Champ came up to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Champ, if _this_ is only a _part_ of what Naga is going through..." Balance trailed off.

"We'll find it, don't worry," Champ said. "We'll do it together. Do you think you can keep going?"

"Yeah," Balance said. "I think we're almost there. There's a small door up ahead, it was covered in stones before. Don't know if it's even open right now."

Champ held up Balance to help him continue walking.

"Hey, do you think it's possible that your desire isn't loving Naga, but being close to him?" Champ wondered as they made their way down the cave's interior.

"Huh?" Balance said.

"There's no way Naga would stop loving you, not now," Champ explained. "How many times have you been apart from him since this happened?"

"Not counting the time slips, not much," Balance said. "I wanted to stay as close to him as possible..."

Champ nodded. "That's _it_, Balance. You're not in love with him. You just always want to be by his _side_!"

Balance paused. It would have explained why the pain showed up at Hammie's wedding. Before Balance could mentally place his thoughts together, he cried out, "Oh, there's the door!"

As they were walking up to the door, Balance felt lightheaded. He blinked slowly, and when he opened his eyes back up, he realized they were out in front of the cave again.

"Champ," Balance said. "I just experienced bent time again... we had already made it to the door..."

"We'll keep going," Champ said. "I'll get you there. I promise."

They made their way through the cave again. Balance wondered if Champ remembered the conversation they had just had... but didn't want to ask.

This time they made their way through the cave nearly silent. When Balance got to the door, which was still open, he clutched his chest again and nearly fell over. The pain had nearly doubled this time.

"Balance!" Champ shouted. "You need to _stop_!"

Balance knew that it wasn't going away until the treasure was destroyed, so he walked right in, but Champ was too big to fit in it. "I can't do that!"

"_Balance_!" Champ cried out. "If you insist on doing this, just grab the treasure out of the box and _hurry_!"

"It's just the box!" Balance called out. "What do I do?"

"Bring it to me, and see if I can see it!"

"Are you sure-" Balance was interrupted by the pulsating from before. It was louder and stronger than the last time. "It's here, I can hear it. And I don't want you to be affected!"

"Just bring it here, I won't touch it!" Champ promised.

"I _didn't need_ to touch it to be affected!"

"Balance, _shut up_, and bring me the _damn box_! Do it for _Naga_!"

_Naga_...

Balance grabbed the box, and quickly took it to the door.

"Open it, so I can see the inside," Champ said.

Balance did so, but in the process, the pain nearly _tripled_, and not only did he drop the box, but he also dropped to the ground. He fell out of view of Champ, but he was still close enough to the door to toss the box into the doorway.

"_Balance_!" Champ cried out. "Don't _die_ on me!"

"Not... dead..." Balance managed to say. "The box..."

"There's nothing _in the box_!" Champ said. "Are you sure you have the-"

"Wait," Balance said. "Raptor said... the treasure... is the Bilita Mpash _Box_, right? Does that... that mean... the treasure-"

"-is the box itself!" Champ said. "People thought it was invisible, because there was _nothing _inside! Balance, stand back, I'm going to destroy it!"

Balance pulled out his crossbow and the Ite Kyutama. "We'll both aim, we'll have a better chance at destroying this."

"All right, then!" Champ screamed. "On three, all right?"

"Ready," Balance said. However, _another_ wave of pain was starting up, and he even had a hard time lifting the crossbow.

"One... two... three!" Champ cried out.

As Balance shot the Ite Kyutama, he could feel his body being thrown back by the force. The pain had managed to get even worse than before... Balance thought most likely because he was so damn close to the box, as he didn't remember another time bend. He was briefly able to see Champ through the door. All of a sudden, Balance felt like he needed to shut his eyes. Before he could even see whether the attack worked for destroying the box... he could feel himself losing consciousness...

"_BALAAAANCE_!" was the last thing he heard.

* * *

"I think he's waking up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, his hand is moving!"

"Move over, I can't see!"

"You're being too loud."

"I said I can't see!"

"Balance?"

Balance recognized the last voice the most. He knew he was awake, but he hadn't been able to open his eyes yet.

"Balance, if you can hear me," Balance heard Naga whisper, "I'm waiting for you."

"We _all_ are." Hmm. Sounded like Hammie sounding huffy.

Balance groaned. He felt like he had been run over. He was sore everywhere, and a bit stiff, as well. It took him a minute, but he finally was able to open his eyes.

"Balance!" Naga cried out, giving him a hug.

"What... what happened?"

"We thought you were a goner," Stinger said.

"Gone?"

"After we destroyed the box, you completely blacked out," Champ said. "I got you back here as fast as I could, but you've been out cold for almost a _day_."

Naga pulled away from the hug then, and Balance could see him crying.

"Naga, why are you crying? Are you still in pain?"

"Balance," Naga said, "I thought you were dead!" He cried even harder.

"Your pain?"

"It's gone, but... it wouldn't even matter... not if you weren't with me."

Balance attempted to sit up, and was able to with the help of Champ. "I'm not dead, buddy! Gonna take a lot more than some stupid box to take _me_ down!"

"Balance..." Naga said.

"Did it work?" Balance said. "Is your pain gone?"

"Yes," Naga said. "I... don't really know how to thank you..."

"No need, Naga," Balance said. He was starting to get some energy back. "Having you here with me is all the thanks I need!"

"That's because you're _in love _with Naga, right?" Hammie teased.

"I'm not in love with Naga," Balance said. Naga glanced at him, confused. "But he _is_ my best friend, always will be. And I never want to be apart from him."

"Balance," Naga said. "I don't want to be apart from you, either."

Champ laughed. "Let's give these two some privacy. Hey, Spada, how about some dinner?"

Spada grinned. "I'll whip up something amazing! We're celebrating!"

"Yeah!" the team shouted.

As everyone turned for the door, Balance said. "Thank you everyone."

Tsurugi turned back around. "Balance, no need to thank us. We're still a team. You couldn't do this by yourself."

"Even though you tried," Garu added. "You're so stubborn."

Balance managed a laugh as everyone left except for Naga.

"Balance, are you ok now?" Naga asked, taking Balance by the hand.

"I think so," Balance said. "I just feel like I've been run over by a truck."

"Well, I don't think that actually happened. At least, not from the stories you've told me."

Balance paused. "What stories, Naga?"

"Oh, you going back in time to right after we met Stinger. And Hammie's wedding that I didn't live long enough to see."

Wait. "Naga... _how_... how did you know all of that?"

"Because you told me," Naga said. "Before you started the roleplay."

"I don't remember that," Balance said. His time really _had_ been screwed up, if he was able to tell stories of times he himself hadn't even experienced yet.

Naga paused for a second. "Do you remember why I slept in your room in the first place?"

"Because your room was trashed."

"No, it wasn't, not last night," Naga said. "The trashed room you saw was three weeks from now, and we were together every waking moment. You were skipping time. You even said that at one point I said I was hungry, and then a few minutes later that I had just eaten. You don't remember this conversation?"

"If you knew your room wasn't trashed, then why did you agree to sleep in my room for that reason?" Balance asked, ignoring the question.

"I just figured that at that point, neither one of us knew what reality was, and what it wasn't." Naga sighed. "Besides, I knew that if I stayed close to you, you'd be there for me. You always have been. And I _needed_ you. So there wouldn't have been an argument from me, even if you didn't mention the trashed room."

Balance laughed.

"Balance, I want to promise you something. I promise not to ever leave your side."

"Naga," Balance said. "That's a beautiful promise, but..." He sighed. "It's not one you can keep. Someday, you're going to find a home. Maybe study, and figure out how _you_ want to spend your life. Maybe even get married. And have a _real_ child. Well, _you_ won't, your wife would... but... you know what I mean." Balance chuckled.

"Balance, that won't happen," Naga said.

"Naga, you've wanted emotions all of your life. Why would you give up the chance at being a father and a husband? Or having a career or an actual purpose in life? You need to experience _everything_. Yes, we can continue to explore, and hunt for treasure- although, we need to plan things out better and actually find out what the treasure is _first_, _no more _winging it, and-"

"Balance," Naga said. "Even if I do stop treasure hunting, I'd still want you there." He sighed. "Please don't ever leave me. Please."

Balance knew that Naga would probably change his mind later, but he replied, "I won't, Naga. Tell you what, no matter what happens, we'll always call the same planet home. Deal?"

Naga nodded and smiled. "Deal. We'll always have Jigama."

"It's home," Balance agreed, smiling back.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, then Naga piped up with a question that Balance definitely wasn't expecting.

"Balance, do you think... I don't know... but do you think... _maybe_, you saved other people?"

Balance was confused. "What do you mean, Naga?"

"Well, there's no telling how many other people have attempted to get that treasure before us, and if destroying it was the only way to make it stop..."

"... there could have been a _lot_ of other people affected by it," Balance finished. "I never even thought of that."

"I did," Naga said. "I thought about it a lot." He paused for a moment. "If they're out there, they're all safe. Thanks to _you_."

"I had help," Balance said.

Naga smiled. Balance loved that genuine smile...


End file.
